KADAKNATH : THE ‘BLACK GOLD’

October 3, 2023

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KADAKNATH : THE ‘BLACK GOLD’

Jhabua is home to a unique indigenous poultry breed called the Kadaknath. The tribals value the breed for its cultural as well as its health values and also consider it sacred. The bird is high in iron and amino acids and low in fat. It tolerates extreme heat and cold climatic conditions and requires minimal management inputs. The breed is disease resistant and is valued for the quality and flavour of its black meat. It is also locally known as Kali masi because the bird is black inside –out – skin, feathers, legs, meat, blood, etc.

Kadaknath is one of the rarest dual purpose poultry breeds of India. The origin of this chicken is from Dhar and Jhabua in MP and Chhattisgarh. Also, it is majorly found in some districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The demand for Kadaknath arose these days in Jhabua to a great extent these days. Basically, Kadaknath breed is popular for its black meat and known as black meat chicken or Kalamasi. Kadaknath chicken breed is famous for its meat quality, texture and taste. It’s single breed; there are further three varieties available with Kadaknath that are jet black, penciled, and golden. The Indian government has given the meat of Kadaknath a geographical indication tag as per norms set on 30 July 2018. Kadaknath Murga is the most popular for its adjustment with adaptability. It is lumps of grey-black meat with infuse vigor. This black and grey shade is due to melanin present in it. It is the rarest breed in India but in high demand. The demand for Kadaknath chicken is growing day by day and spread across most of the Indian states due to their excellent medicinal values. Especially these birds bear great medicinal value in homeopathy and useful in treating a particular nervous disorder. Basically, Kadaknath chickens are mainly reared by tribal communities in Bhil in the districts Jhabua and Dhar in the state of Madhya Pradesh (MP). The commercial scale of Kadaknath chicken raising especially in the states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Kadaknath chicken meat is in black colour and eggs are in brown color. The new Kadaknath production technology has reduced the mortality rate from greater than 50 per cent. Now you can expect to 10 to 12 per cent of mortality, this enhanced the survival percentage and overall profits in Kadaknath chicken farming, because of high feed conversion ratio. Singh et al. (2007) reported average 40-week body weight of Kadaknath was 1.4 kg. Kadaknath chickens can be reared similar to country chicken or free range chicken. However, It may require little more care initially to grow in controlled environment. Later they can be left freely in open field. One can grow these birds in back yards. In fact, Kadaknath chickens are best suited for back yard farming rather growing on commercial scales.

Characteristics of Kadaknath bird:

The color features of Kadaknath are black with a tone of grey in it. Also, it possesses gold plumage with some green effects on the body. The black-grey shade is on the legs and the toenails in the lower body. The upper body has a black tone of tongue, beak, comb, and wattles. The inner organs, bones, and meat have a grayish tone. Day-old chicks are bluish to black with irregular dark stripes over the back. The blood is darker than normal. The black pigment is the result of melanin deposition. Average egg production of kadaknath is 100-110 egg/year/bird. Average adult body weight of Cock and Hen 1.5-2.0 kg and 1.0-1.5 kg, respectively. Average egg weight of kadaknath is 47 gm.

There are 3 different breeds of Black Meat Chicken is available in the world.

• Kadaknath – Native to Madhya Pradesh, India.

• Silkie – Native to China.

• Ayyam Cemani – Native to Indonesia.

Medicinal Properties of Kadaknath bird:

Kadaknath has special medicinal value in homeopathy and a particular nervous disorder. • The tribal uses kadaknath blood in the treatment of chronic disease in human beings and its meat as aphrodisiac (Believed to infuse vigour in Make). • Experts says that Viagra or Sildenafil Citrate is basically a vasodilator designed for increasing blood flow to the heart and the melanin pigment in kadaknath does the same. • Kadaknath chicken has a peculiar effectiveness in treating women’s discuss, sterility, Menoxenic (abnormal menstruation), habitual abortion.

Benefits of Kadaknath bird:

Kadaknath chicken meat is textured and flavoured. • This black meat has good medicinal values. • Kadaknath chicken breeds are adaptable to any kind of environment. • Kadaknath chicken meat and their eggs are sold for high price in the market. • This bird meat contains many kinds of amino acids, and vitamins. • This meat helps to increase blood cells and haemoglobin. • Kadaknath chicken is said to be aids in curing pulmonary problems • The Kadaknath birds convert feed quickly into the meat (feed conversion ratio is high). • The Kadaknath chicken eggs are used to treat headaches, post delivery problems, asthma and nephritis. • Kadaknath chicken is said to be good for women health as well. • The tribal community in MP uses Kadaknath chicken blood in the treatment of chronic disease. • The Kadaknath chicken eggs are also have good nutrition values and good for old people. • Kadaknath black meat contains vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E, niacin, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and nicotinic acid • The Kadaknath breed is hardy and highly resistant for diseases. • Unlike broiler chicken, these can survive even on kitchen waste. • The best advantage is, these birds meat has more protein, less fat, and low cholesterol when compared to similar kind of poultry breeds. • Kadaknath chicken weighs about 1.5 Kg after growing 6 to 7 months. • Kadaknath is one of the rarest birds available in the world. • Commercial scale farming of Kadaknath chicken defiantly fetchs good profits if proper marketing channel is established.

Benefits of Kadaknath meat:

Kadaknath chicken contains 25 to 27% of the protein in comparison with other breeds of chickens that contain 18% protein. It is known for its high iron content. (Mohan et al., 2008). • Kadaknath has fat and cholesterol content lower compared with other chicken breeds. Due to these particular characteristics, Kadaknath chicken’s chicks and eggs are sold at a much higher rate than other varieties of chicken. This Kadaknath chicken breed is very popular among local tribal people mostly due to its adaptability to the local environment, disease resistance, meat quality, texture, and flvor. (Panda and Mahapatra, 1989) • Kadaknath black chicken has lower cholesterol (0.73-1.05 per cent) than white chicken (13-25 per cent). • Kadaknath black meat contains vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E, niacin, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and nicotinic acid etc. • This chicken has high levels of 18 essential amino acids as well as hormones that are required by the human body. • The amount of fat deposited in the body of a Kadaknath breed chicken is itself very negligible. • It has great importance in Siddha and homeopathy medicines for treating the nervous disorder.

Benefits of Kadaknath egg:

The Kadaknath eggs are an ideal nutritive and used for old people and high blood pressure victims since the cholesterol content is lower Rich in amino acids and higher than that of other kinds of poultry birds. • Kadaknath breed eggs help to meet the day to day protein requirement of growing children. • Eggs of Kadaknath can be used capably to treat severe headaches, faintness, asthma, andnephritis (acute or chronic in kidney).

Care or Management of Kadaknath bird:

The shelter must be at some height from the road so that rainwater will easily flow out and it will protect them from the flood. • Fresh water supply should be there. It should have 22-23 hours of electricity supply. The chicken shelter should be away from the industrial and urban area because the fertilizer of chicken will pollute the environment and causes flie’s problem. • Select the shelter which is free from noise as the noise problem will a affect the production of birds. • The smoke factories will also affect the kadaknath birds. • Eggs are placed in the incubator for about 21 days by giving proper temperature. • After hatching, chicks can be removed from the incubator after 48 hours. • Handling of chicks must be done carefully while taking out from the incubator. After taking out chicks from the incubator, they are positioned in the brooder. • For the first week, the temperature of brooder must be 95 °F and it must be dropped by 70°F upto six week. • Proper feed at proper should be given to chicks and clean water must be available every time in the brooder.

Kadaknath chicken vaccination schedule:

When the chick is one day old then give HVT vaccination to protect them from Marek’s disease. The influence of the injection will remain up to 18 months. • When the chick is 4 to 7 days old give them RD vaccination (F1 strain) to protect them from Ranikhetdisease. The influence of the injection will remain for 2 to 4 months. • When the chick is 18 to 21 days old give them IBD vaccination to protect them from Gumboro disease. • When the chick is 4 to 5 weeks old give them RD (F1 strain) vaccination to protect them from Ranikhet disease. • When the chick is 6 to 8 weeks old give them RD (F2B strain) vaccination to protect them from Ranikhet disease, 0.5 ml of medicine is applied to the chick. When the chick is 8 to 10 weeks old give them chicken pox vaccination to protect them from chicken pox disease.

The Kadaknath bird a dual purpose strain performs better than other indian bird. Better adaptability and protected well from predator of Kadaknath bird, it is well adopted by the poultry farmers of the india. The income of small, marginal and landless farmers was increased due to rearing of Kadaknath birds under backyard poultry farming through low input and high output venture within a very short span of time and overall profits in Kadaknath chicken farming, because of high feed conversion ratio. Kadaknath has fat and cholesterol content lower compared with other chicken breeds.

The breed which was earlier found in the entire tribal area of Jhabua, Alirajpur and Dhar districts is now to be found only in Jhabua and is under threat of extinction. The introduction of exotic foreign breeds and the resultant disease outbreaks have brought the pure kadaknath breed at the doorstep of extinction. Moreover, Kadaknath birds lay only about 90 eggs a year and also do not hatch their eggs. Tribals use desi hens to hatch these eggs. The fact that these birds are valued for their meat and lay few eggs has also contributed to the depletion in numbers. A year-old hen is sold for Rs. 850 – 1000 as against Rs. 250 for a desi hen and a Kadaknath eggs sells for Rs. 10-15.

The government of Madhya Pradesh as well as the central government has launched schemes to propagate the breed and at the same time provide livelihood to the poor and tribal populations in Jhabua. Under these schemes, ST individuals are being provided with sheds, chicks, feed etc.

Kadknath chicken is famous for its taste and claimed aphrodisiac and medicinal properties. The blood, meat and body of the birds are black, and compared with other poultry, Kadaknath is high in protein. It also contains 18 kinds of essential amino acids and Vitamins B-1, B-2, B-6, B-12, C and E. The Kadaknath species has not only opened up palates, but have become a major source of income for women in self-help groups in rural India.

Why is Kadaknath chicken so expensive?

Being a rare breed, this chicken is expensive because of a multitude of reasons. Due to a lower fertility rate, they take time to grow, hence the higher price. Since this Black Chicken is an excellent source of protein, it is highly sought after but cannot be found easily in the market. You can pair it with any Indian bread or a steamed bowl of rice, grill it with masalas or make delicious kebabs. Interestingly, Kadaknath is one of the three black chicken breeds found across the world. The remaining two Black Chicken breeds are found in Indonesia and China named Ayyam Cemani and Silkier, respectively.

What is Kadaknath Chicken and why is everyone talking about it?

Reckoned as ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Pride of Jhabua’, Kadaknath is mainly found in tribal-dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh named Alirajpur and Jhabua. The Kadaknath breed contains approximately 10 times higher iron content when compared with the ordinary chicken breed. In fact, higher iron content is the main reason behind its black skin colour and even blood colour. The eggs laid by the hens of this breed are also quite popular.

Kadaknath Black Chicken is the meat of chickens who are mature. When compared to the regular chicken, the taste and texture are subtle but gravy prepared using this chicken has an intense lasting flavour that lingers on your taste buds. This is indeed the reason that it always remains a trending topic amongst chicken lovers.

What is special about the Kadaknath breed?

Naturally raised, the Kadaknath chicken breed is extremely popular due to its distinct texture and flavour. Its popularity is soaring with time owing to its low-fat content as compared to other breeds of chicken. So if you are someone who consumes chicken for fitness or health reasons, then look no further than this Kadaknath Black breed as it is reckoned as one of the healthiest chicken variants.

Health Benefits of Kadaknath Chicken

As far as health Benefits Of Kadaknath are concerned, it is equipped with many vitamins namely B1, B6, B2, B12, C, and E. Besides that, it is also enriched with calcium, iron, fat, niacin, nicotinic acid, and phosphorus. Kadaknath is not just known for its extraordinary nutritional properties but is also equipped with a variety of medicinal properties.

facts about Kadaknath:

Kadaknath or Kali Masi is a breed of chicken which is native to Jhabua and Dhar districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Kadaknath has very high protein content as compared to other breeds of chicken.
Kadaknath has very low fat content as compared to other breeds of chicken. Kadaknath contains only 0.73-1.03% fat as compared to other breeds that contain 13-25% fat. This makes Kadaknath a preferable low fat source of proteins.
The meat and the feathers of Kadaknath chicken are black in colour. This is due to very high levels of Melanin.
Melanin is a protein which is responsible for the colour of skin and flesh. Melanin is made of Tyrosine, which has a lot of medicinal benefits. Tyrosine is an amino acid that is naturally produced in the body from another amino acid called phenylalanine.
Apart from melanin, tyrosine helps in making several important substances like adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine and thyroid hormones.
Adrenaline plays a very vital role in fighting stress. Adrenaline and Noradrenaline hormones are responsible for body’s fight or flight response to stressful situations.
Dopamine regulates brain’s reward and pleasure centres. It also plays a key role in our memory and brain functioning.
Thus, Kadaknath meat with high melanin content and low fat content is beneficial to health.
But the colour of its eggs is not black as mentioned in the post. The eggs of Kadaknath are creamy white in colour.

KADAKNATH-BLACK GOLD